Rising star to fulfil dream

Camera IconFormer JPC and Mines Rovers player Dom Sheed starred in the Eagles’ big preliminary final win over Melbourne last weekend. Credit: Simon Santi / The West Australian

Former JPC and Mines Rovers footballer Dom Sheed gets another shot at fulfilling his dream of an AFL flag next weekend after starring in West Coast’s preliminary final win over Melbourne last Saturday.

Sheed took seven marks and racked up 27 possessions as part of a dominant Eagles’ midfield in an 11-goal win.

It was another tick for the application of Sheed, who was dropped several times during the season but has starred since teammate Andrew Gaff’s round 20 suspension.

Sheed’s 27 disposals last weekend against the Demons matched his display against Collingwood in the qualifying final when he also had seven clearances, six inside 50s and a goal.

Sheed lined up for the Eagles in the 2015 AFL grand final, but the side fell to Hawthorn by 46 points.

After 10 games in 2014, Sheed stamped himself as one of West Coast’s best prospects the next season with form that earned him a Rising Star nomination.

Jeremy McGovern, whose junior career included a stint in Kalgoorlie’s under-13s, had 17 disposals for the Eagles.

Another former JPC junior, Melbourne’s Aaron vandenBerg, had 19 possessions in a losing effort.

Goldfields’ strongest links with West Coast are with former Railways star Dean Kemp, who played in the 1992 and 1994 premierships.

His superb display in the 1994 decider against Geelong earned him the Norm Smith medal.